Trailblazer
Veteran Member
The Baha’i Faith recommends a very different way of thinking about and dealing with our tests and difficulties. Instead of fearing them and doing our best to avoid them, the Baha’i teachings say we should welcome them:
“Thou hast written concerning the tests that have come upon thee. To the sincere ones, tests are as a gift from God, the Exalted, for a heroic person hasteneth, with the utmost joy and gladness, to the tests of a violent battlefield, but the coward is afraid and trembles and utters moaning and lamentation. Likewise, an expert student prepareth and memorizeth his lessons and exercises with the utmost effort, and in the day of examination he appeareth with infinite joy before the master. Likewise, the pure gold shineth radiantly in the fire of test. Consequently, it is made clear that for holy souls, trials are as the gift of God, the Exalted; but for weak souls they are an unexpected calamity.” Bahá’í World Faith, p. 371
In other words, the Baha’is who do not see tests as gifts from God are not sincere or heroic. They are cowards, weak souls.
This is very judgmental and please note that Baha’u’llah did not write what I quoted above. I believe that Abdu’l-Baha took it upon himself to add to what Baha’u’llah wrote and embellish it. I welcome any Baha’i who can find anything that says anything like this in the Writings of Baha’u’llah.
That quote above is very insensitive and judgmental. I consider it unfortunate if Baha’is cannot even understand why that is the case. I am not just saying this because I have suffered so much; I say this because many people suffer, often through no fault of their own.
It is really sad when a believer belongs to a religion and they cannot even get any compassion or understanding from others who belong to the same religion. I have to rely upon people of other religions and atheists for any compassion and understanding.
I think that Baha’is need to wake up and smell the coffee. What I am saying has nothing to do with the Baha’i Faith but rather it is an attitude of “some Baha’is” who consider their “teachings” more important than other people’s feelings. What Abdul-Baha said above sounds like it came out of a recipe book called “How to suffer and be happy” but I think it is unreasonable to expect everyone to be able to cope with suffering the same way because no two people are alike nor are their life situations alike..
I will remind the Baha’is of the following passage. I will also remind them that God is the one who created this world that is a storehouse of suffering.
“O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the severe calamity that hath befallen thee—the death of thy respected husband. That honourable man hath been so subjected to the stress and strain of this world that his greatest wish was for deliverance from it. Such is this mortal abode: a storehouse of afflictions and suffering. It is ignorance that binds man to it, for no comfort can be secured by any soul in this world, from monarch down to the most humble commoner. If once this life should offer a man a sweet cup, a hundred bitter ones will follow; such is the condition of this world. The wise man, therefore, doth not attach himself to this mortal life and doth not depend upon it; at some moments, even, he eagerly wisheth for death that he may thereby be freed from these sorrows and afflictions. Thus it is seen that some, under extreme pressure of anguish, have committed suicide.
As to thy husband, rest assured. He will be immersed in the ocean of pardon and forgiveness and will become the recipient of bounty and favour. Strive thine utmost to give his child a Bahá’í training so that when he attaineth maturity he may be merciful, illumined and heavenly.” Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 200
So I guess this man who committed suicide was an insincere weak soul. Why then will he will be immersed in the ocean of pardon and forgiveness and become the recipient of bounty and favor of God?
Abdu’l-Bahá said: “The wise man, therefore, doth not attach himself to this mortal life and doth not depend upon it;”
But even if we are detached from this world and do not depend upon it, we have to live in it. This idea promulgated by some Baha’is that if we were detached from this world we would never suffer implies that all people who suffer are attached to this world, but such is not the case.
A person can be attached to a friend or family member or an animal they love dearly and suffer when a death occurs. It is written in the Baha’i history how much the Guardian Shoghi Effendi suffered when his grandfather Abdu’l-Baha died. So is there some kind of double standard whereby the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith can suffer but a Baha’i who suffers just needs to be more detached?
I consider it reprehensible to say to someone who is suffering that they just need to be more detached, embrace their tests and never complain, but sadly, that is what many Baha’is say. Unfortunately, this is what religious beliefs can do to some people. However, these are not the teachings of Baha’u’llah.
“Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 285
(Continued on next post)
“Thou hast written concerning the tests that have come upon thee. To the sincere ones, tests are as a gift from God, the Exalted, for a heroic person hasteneth, with the utmost joy and gladness, to the tests of a violent battlefield, but the coward is afraid and trembles and utters moaning and lamentation. Likewise, an expert student prepareth and memorizeth his lessons and exercises with the utmost effort, and in the day of examination he appeareth with infinite joy before the master. Likewise, the pure gold shineth radiantly in the fire of test. Consequently, it is made clear that for holy souls, trials are as the gift of God, the Exalted; but for weak souls they are an unexpected calamity.” Bahá’í World Faith, p. 371
In other words, the Baha’is who do not see tests as gifts from God are not sincere or heroic. They are cowards, weak souls.
This is very judgmental and please note that Baha’u’llah did not write what I quoted above. I believe that Abdu’l-Baha took it upon himself to add to what Baha’u’llah wrote and embellish it. I welcome any Baha’i who can find anything that says anything like this in the Writings of Baha’u’llah.
That quote above is very insensitive and judgmental. I consider it unfortunate if Baha’is cannot even understand why that is the case. I am not just saying this because I have suffered so much; I say this because many people suffer, often through no fault of their own.
It is really sad when a believer belongs to a religion and they cannot even get any compassion or understanding from others who belong to the same religion. I have to rely upon people of other religions and atheists for any compassion and understanding.
I think that Baha’is need to wake up and smell the coffee. What I am saying has nothing to do with the Baha’i Faith but rather it is an attitude of “some Baha’is” who consider their “teachings” more important than other people’s feelings. What Abdul-Baha said above sounds like it came out of a recipe book called “How to suffer and be happy” but I think it is unreasonable to expect everyone to be able to cope with suffering the same way because no two people are alike nor are their life situations alike..
I will remind the Baha’is of the following passage. I will also remind them that God is the one who created this world that is a storehouse of suffering.
“O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Thy letter was received. Thou hast written of the severe calamity that hath befallen thee—the death of thy respected husband. That honourable man hath been so subjected to the stress and strain of this world that his greatest wish was for deliverance from it. Such is this mortal abode: a storehouse of afflictions and suffering. It is ignorance that binds man to it, for no comfort can be secured by any soul in this world, from monarch down to the most humble commoner. If once this life should offer a man a sweet cup, a hundred bitter ones will follow; such is the condition of this world. The wise man, therefore, doth not attach himself to this mortal life and doth not depend upon it; at some moments, even, he eagerly wisheth for death that he may thereby be freed from these sorrows and afflictions. Thus it is seen that some, under extreme pressure of anguish, have committed suicide.
As to thy husband, rest assured. He will be immersed in the ocean of pardon and forgiveness and will become the recipient of bounty and favour. Strive thine utmost to give his child a Bahá’í training so that when he attaineth maturity he may be merciful, illumined and heavenly.” Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 200
So I guess this man who committed suicide was an insincere weak soul. Why then will he will be immersed in the ocean of pardon and forgiveness and become the recipient of bounty and favor of God?
Abdu’l-Bahá said: “The wise man, therefore, doth not attach himself to this mortal life and doth not depend upon it;”
But even if we are detached from this world and do not depend upon it, we have to live in it. This idea promulgated by some Baha’is that if we were detached from this world we would never suffer implies that all people who suffer are attached to this world, but such is not the case.
A person can be attached to a friend or family member or an animal they love dearly and suffer when a death occurs. It is written in the Baha’i history how much the Guardian Shoghi Effendi suffered when his grandfather Abdu’l-Baha died. So is there some kind of double standard whereby the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith can suffer but a Baha’i who suffers just needs to be more detached?
I consider it reprehensible to say to someone who is suffering that they just need to be more detached, embrace their tests and never complain, but sadly, that is what many Baha’is say. Unfortunately, this is what religious beliefs can do to some people. However, these are not the teachings of Baha’u’llah.
“Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 285
(Continued on next post)